Town, pub and village events planned for the next couple of months
Abingdon Beer Festival will be held at the medieval Abbey Buildings on Friday April 25, Saturday April 26 and Sunday April 27. Now in its eighth year, it is held to raise awareness of this historic venue and to generate funds to maintain these precious and important buildings.
Spring festivals are also scheduled for Witney, the Perch Inn in Binsey and White Hart in Headington, prior to the summer highlight of Charlbury Beer Festival at the end of June.
Bryan Brown, president of the Friends of Abingdon Abbey Buildings Trust, said: “Pleasingly the festival has grown year on year and it is now an established event in the Abingdon community calendar. It is mostly staffed by very able volunteers, some 60 in total, 40-odd serving beer and another 20 who guide customers and sell the beer tokens.
“Volunteers are at the heart of our society; indeed, I don’t think the country could work without them. People get great fulfilment from supporting their favourite enterprise, perhaps CAMRA, a community pub, a hospital, a charity or a community event. So, if you are already involved, many thanks. If not I encourage you to do so; volunteer input is so valuable and it is great for meeting and helping other people.”
Over the years the Abbey Buildings have become a key community asset, increasingly important in a town centre serving a population of now over 40,000 people. The buildings include the Unicorn, the only theatre in the town centre, the Long Gallery, a great wedding venue the millstream garden, and the Lower Hall, the event space used for the beer festival.
“The Abbey Buildings are also home to the Abingdon brewing tradition, beer having been brewed and consumed at the buildings for a thousand years,” added Bryan. “So, the Abingdon Beer Festival is a revival of the monks’ many years of occupancy followed by 300 years of the Abbey Brewery. A monk’s intake was seven pints a day so a target for our customers!”
Witney Beer Festival is at St Mary’s Church, Church Green, on Saturday May 3. The Perch Beer and Cider Festival, beside the Thames to the west of Oxford, is on Bank Holiday weekend but only on Saturday/Sunday May 3 and 4. This is followed by the White Hart festival in Headington from Friday May 16-Sunday May 18, while the Nag’s Head in Abingdon stages its annual weekend event from Friday May 23-Bank Holiday Monday May 26. The annual Chadlington Beer Festival is on Saturday May 31.
June will see Tap Social stage its Change is Brewing festival at the Botley taproom on Saturday June 21, with a line-up of innovative craft brewers invited. Then comes Charlbury Beer Festival on Saturday June 28, again at the cricket club across the road from the railway station.
This will offer around 60 real ales, a variety of craft beers, a range of ciders and perries, wine, gin, and Pimm’s; a selection of food; live music throughout; the Culture Tent with an eclectic programme of performances and talks; children’s entertainment; plus the 13th World Aunt Sally Singles Championships, when Roger Goodall will attempt to win the crown for an unprecedented fourth time.
The festival will be raising money for community projects, both in the Charlbury area and overseas. After the last festival organisers celebrated taking total funds raised for good causes to around £325,000, a major achievement.
- Confirmed dates for the Oxford Beer and Cider Festival are from Thursday 23 to Saturday 25 October, and this will again be supported by independent brewers association SIBA.